Eat A Little Dirt
by littlemija69
Summary: Being retired for 30-years and his life more stagnant than ever, Yusuke is called upon by Koenma to attempt to train a spirit detective that just might or might not be suitable in replacing his adequate record 30-years ago. But what happens when she isn't adequate enough? Or that her spirit energy is not substantial enough? Not even Yusuke knows; he's just the mentor.
1. Prologue

**Eat a Little Dirt  
**_Prologue_**  
**

* * *

_Suck, suck, suck…_

Lord Koenma stared down at the relatively small file on his desk that was spread open on the limited space of his desk. He had mounds of paper piles along his desk but he couldn't keep his eyes from this one file, as if it was the file that held the 'end of the world' but of course, he knew that wasn't true. There was only a small picture in the left hand corner, followed by some facts, but Koenma didn't like the 'special request' from his father so far. To him, this file had too many potentials of a Sensui wannabe and that was not something he wanted to repeat. But then again, the bold-red letters from the notes his father's assistant had included, which were his personal recommendations, had a certain grasp around his decision.

**UNDERSTANDS ORDER AND SUPERIORITY – GOOD ACADEMICS AND ATHLETICS**

_Suck, suck, suck…_

"GAH, WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT?!" Koenma screamed out, almost enough to shake the walls surrounding his office space. The multi-colored ogres filing to and from the office paused, staring over at the toddler ruler with mixed emotions of shock and fear. Koenma pushed a hand against his forehead and groaned, sucking on his pacifier even more.

A blue ogre to his left wearing a leopard print loincloth moved forward cautiously; should Lord Koenma be in as horrid of a mood as he appeared to be, all ogres were at risk. But this particular ogre had a slight soft spot for the toddler ruler for how much they've been through together. The blue ogre peeked over the ruler's shoulder carefully and peered down at the file the ruler was so adamantly staring at. The ogre didn't see the problem. From the small background and minor facts, the person seemed most adequately fit for the new spirit detective position. "Koenma, sir," the blue ogre stated, just a level higher than a whisper. Lord Koenma looked over at him, irritation plainly written on his face. "W-What seems to be the problem?" the ogre asked.

"What does it look like, ogre?!" Koenma questioned. The ogre shuddered and sighing, Lord Koenma looked back down at the file. "My father's assistant sent me this about an hour ago and I'm not sure if I want this particular person as a spirit detective. Her background seems pristine for this job: missing parents, unstable uncle, and a pet pork-chop. However, it's the personality information that worries me. Most of the traits I'm reading are similar with how Sensui's file looked. _And I can't risk another spirit detective going insane!_" At this point, Koenma had his hands tearing at the hat on his head, whining out in a small tantrum as the ogre frowned down at him, getting the usual uncomfortable feeling. Koenma moaned and pushed his hands to his face, taking a deep breath.

"And if I ignore this 'special request' from my father, I'm sure to be guaranteed a thousand spankings and after the last batch… I'm not sure if my fanny can take anymore." Koenma let out a few tears in the memory of his last disciplinary'appointment' that was established when he had chosen his previous spirit detective over his father's words. Koenma still had those days fresh in his memory, despite the thirty-year gap between then and presently. He had wished more than anything to keep Yusuke Urameshi as a spirit detective but the yokai blood that coursed through his veins nowadays was not something his father saw suitable. To King Enma, it was a liability if Yusuke ever decided to take full control of his yokai blood and wreak havoc all throughout the human world, it would be Enma's head, not Yusuke's.

"Well, after the last two you've had, I think she's a perfect match, sir!" the blue ogre piped in, most excitedly with a pump of his fist in the air and a large grin plastered on his face. Lord Koenma tried not to show his anger but his eye twitched and he could feel a vein pulsating in the right hand part of his forehead; it was getting increasingly harder to control his temper tantrums since he'd been unable to find an adequate spirit detective. The one he had found after Yusuke Urameshi was…simply pathetic. His spiritual energy was renowned but the idiot had no idea how to control it and in fact, it caused the most embarrassing implosion of the poor fellow.

And his most recent one was, to say the least, worse than one of Yusuke's team members. '_That guy had some serious emotional issues_,'Koenma thought as his eyes drifted over the file before him. The prior spirit detective went missing only two months ago and even though Koenma had a small thought of where said detective was, he didn't care at the moment. He could send out his new spirit detective to retrieve the 'hermit' from the caves he was infecting his filth upon. "I wouldn't doubt he was gutting rats and spewing scorpions," Koenma whispered harshly to himself, sighing.

"OK! I've made up my mind," Lord Koenma announced. The handful of ogres in the room all turned to look at him, faking interest and some had mild interest strewn across their ugly faces. "George, fetch me Botan!" Lord Koenma stated. The blue ogre to his left nodded and sprang into action, leaving the office. Koenma folded the file and sucked away at his pacifier as he let his mind wander.

Having seven-hundred years under his belt, his mind was somewhat stuffed up with those seven-hundred years' worth of crap. He's had a total of five spirit detectives so far and he really wished he could keep one for longer than a couple years, especially Yusuke and Sutou Kuroko. Sensui was the best of them all but the aftermath of him was enough for Koenma to never wish to make that mistake again. He took the utmost cautiousness in picking spirit detectives nowadays; people more like Yusuke, with a single-tracked mind and the ability to accept that evil lay on both the demon and human world. The file he had stared at for hours was of someone he wasn't sure had that ability but this would be on his father's neck, not his, Koenma assumed. The notes in bold-red were evidence of that.

"Koenma, sir, you wished to see me?" a springy voice called. Koenma looked up to see his most trusted grim reaper, or fetcher of souls, or ferry—whichever the preference and religion. The woman was tall and lean with a head of natural blue hair and bubblegum pink eyes. She was wearing a pink and blue kimono and was just willing her oar away as she smiled at him. Lord Koenma grinned, pushing his hands on the edge of his desk to lean forward.

"Botan, finally!" he stated. "I have a task for you that you need to assume as soon as possible, no questions asked, got it?" Botan blinked, but nodded as Koenma sat back on his seat and flipped the file open before him. "This is a new recommendation from my father for a new spirit detective…"

"But, sir, what about Roku?" Botan asked. Roku was the name of the hermit he had recruited and was missing in action. Koenma sighed and pushed his forefinger and middle finger against his forehead, rubbing the tension that started to brew behind the skull there. Botan leaned forward on the desk and grinned. "Oh, sir, she's beautiful!" Botan exclaimed. "I'm so glad you've decided on another female. Perhaps Sutou would be willing to train her." Koenma chuckled.

"Botan, please, Sutou is nearly eighty years old. She's in no shape to train a fresh detective," Koenma remarked. Botan giggled.

"Sorry, it's been a while since I've kept track of the years gone by in the human world. Has it really been thirty years since Yusuke was our detective? My goodness," Botan rambled. "I'll have to take a vacation one of these months to go see him… Oh, and Keiko and Yukina and-"

"Botan,"Koenma warned. Botan blinked and looked down at him, grinning apologetically."Like I was saying, I have a mission for you to pick up our new recruit. Her name is Rivers Kameko. She lives a mere five blocks from where Kurama lives. Perhaps you can have him assist you since he's much better with words than you are, for sure." Botan flushed.

"I can be good with words if I wanted to be," Botan argued. Koenma looked up at him with a knowing look crossing his face. Botan pursed her lips and waved him away, scoffing. "I don't have to prove myself but fine, I'll see if Kurama can assist me. But I think his mother passed away recently, so he might have already left for the demon world to be with Yomi. Or am I completely wrong on that?" Koenma sighed.

"No, you are correct. His human mother did pass away, but stop by his house in the meanwhile, just to see. He might have not left yet," Koenma ensured. Botan nodded. "Keep me posted." Botan nodded and walked from the room, summoning his oar. "Oh, and Botan?"

"Yes, sir?"she called back, looking back at him. She frowned, seeing him hunched over the file with a strenuous expression on his face.

"Let me know what you're impression is of her," Koenma stated. It could have been a question but Botan was sure it was more of a demand than a request. Botan nodded and walked from the toddler ruler's office. Lord Koenma groaned and threw himself back against the chair, spinning it in a circle briefly before stopping it with his foot to glare at the file. "Oh, just light up on fire, would you?" he hissed before hastily folding the file and shoving it in the middle drawer of his desk. He reached for his seal and began on the mounds that gathered in the hours he spent thinking on this newest recommendation.

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**AuthorNotes: **So, I know it's been a very long time since I posted anything, and I'm incredibly sorry for that. I have just been going through a lot of family drama and my heart wasn't in my stories, so anything I produced felt like complete crap. Lol I've decided to post a story that I've been working on for some time and felt it's time it can be posted. Posting won't be too often, but every once in a while since I am currently working on a fiction of my own so this will be a way to keep my mind from becoming overwhelmed. Lol But I hope you enjoyed it! :) Please let me know your thoughts if you have a moment! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 1

**Eat a Little Dirt  
**Chapter **1**

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"God damn it!" a girl yelled out, slamming her fists against the table. She couldn't believe it, just could not believe it. "You're telling me that you don't have any more green burritos?!" she yelled out at the clerk, who backed away nervously with a wide-eyed expression. "You're called _Green Burrito_ for crying out loud! Oh, damn it all. We're going somewhere else. Come on, Kameko!" the crazed woman exclaimed, grabbing the wrist of a taller blonde who was standing beside her, who was seemingly content with the lack of 'green burritos' at _Green Burrito_. The crazed woman with red hair and blue eyes was still ranting as they moved toward the yellow M sign across the food court. "Honestly, who do they think they are, not serving green burritos? That's what they're famous for! Am I right, or am I right?" the crazed redhead stated. The blonde latched onto the redhead's hand just smiled, not sure what to say as the redhead stopped before the minuscule line at the fast food restaurant.

"I'm sure there was a valid explanation as to why they were out, Meg-Chan," the blonde named Kameko replied, trying her best to offer a comforting smile when Meg—real name Megumi—turned to look at her with acidic blue eyes. Kameko waved her hands defensively, glancing around warily. "So sorry, but you're absolutely right, Meg-Chan. Absolutely and terrifyingly correct," Kameko stuttered. Meg grinned and nodded, turning to the clerk and ordering. Kameko ordered her usual teriyaki Mac burger with a large fry and a bottle of milk, and the two stood to the side, waiting for their number as Meg looked over at the _Green Burrito_ with slight irritation.

"If you glare at it any longer, it'll go supernova," Kameko commented, eyeing her supposed friend, which she was slightly regretting at this point. Green burritos weren't that good, to Kameko's point. She only ate there because that was Meg's favorite place to eat. Albeit, Meg should've realized that it was nearing closing time for the mall and supplies were low at all the restaurants in the food court; Kameko was surprised McDonald's still had fries.

When their number was called out, Kameko ate how she usually did, which bugged the hell out of Meg. "Why do you eat like that?" Meg asked, not in the least bit surprising Kameko. The woman asked her every time they ate together. Kameko set down her burger and took a sip of her milk, sighing. She hated going through this whole lecture to her daffy friend.

"People are supposed to chew their food thirty-five times, but I settled for at least more than ten," Kameko explained. "A stomach doesn't have teeth in it and teeth are very essential to digesting. If I make my food into mush before swallowing, it makes it easier for my stomach to digest it, therefore—"

"It's less strain on your stomach and less weight, blah, blah, blah," Meg mocked, rolling her eyes. Kameko narrowed her eyes but resumed eating, in the exact same manner. "You're not normal, you know that?" Kameko smiled.

"Why's that, Meg-Chan?" Kameko asked. Meg fixated her eyes on her with what Kameko assumed to be was a snarl but it just looked like the woman just smelt some nasty odor.

"You're just too abnormal, is all; you would rather read than play video games. You don't own a cell phone and you chew your food to mush before swallowing, for starters," Meg commented. Kameko shrugged, unable to do much more than that. She was getting rather irritated at this point. Meg pulled these cards out pretty much every time they hung out and Kameko was getting sick of it. They've been friends for two years so it shouldn't be as shocking as it was to Kameko but, then again, this was Meg we were talking about. Crazed Meg who doesn't accept that _Green Burrito_ ran out of green burritos, who doesn't believe in eating salads Meg, and who doesn't believe in the school system Meg. Kameko wasn't even sure how the two of them became friends.

"So, what 'bout heading out soon? I have to get home," Meg stated. Kameko nodded and wrapped up her left over teriyaki burger and tossing her milk bottle and soggy French fries, following Meg out into the main pathways of the mall. Kameko shoved her hands into her pockets and listened to Meg ramble about how models were too thin, how 'this pink was ridiculously bright for a skirt' and of course, how _Green Burrito_ didn't have green burritos. Kameko had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the age-old conversations.

Kameko didn't want to seem like a bad friend, so don't think she is when she stood awkwardly next to Meg's 'daddy bought' car (that in order for Kameko to buy would take her entire life's finances), and only managed a small finger wave as Meg pulled out of her parking lot with an insufferable squeal of her tires and throwing a wave in Kameko's direction while Kameko kept the glare from her face. '_Selfish friends are no friends at all. Wench couldn't give me a ride home, at least? Jeez._' Kameko waited for a moment, standing on the curb of the sidewalk and balancing on the edge on the middle of her feet. It was a relatively cool day and for that, Kameko was glad. She wasn't in clothing for summer; she was in black sweatpants with a yellow off-the-shoulder shirt that had sleeves to her forearms. '_Guess I should start my walk home…_' she thought, begrudgingly and started to step off the curb.

_Psst_.

Kameko paused with one leg on the curb and the other on the asphalt, staring over at a small dead-end alley between two department stores. She could see someone sitting there with a small kiosk. She narrowed her eyes and pocketed her hands and walked toward the alley when the person made a beckoning motion with her hand. "Come here," the person said; Kameko could tell it was female by the voice. She stopped before the alley and the woman turned to her, showing bright bubblegum pink eyes with a face covered by a dark purple robe. She had a hunched over appearance and gangly, liver-spotted hands that reached out to grasp one of Kameko's. Kameko held out her right hand, not too entirely sure why.

"If I'm to read your fortune, I need your dominant hand," the woman stated with a light chuckle. Kameko felt chills to go up her spine and reluctantly held out her left hand, which the haggard woman grasped with renewed strength, humming slightly. Kameko narrowed her eyes as the haggard woman sat there for quite a while and to be honest, Kameko was getting very uncomfortable. "It's very clear now," the haggard woman stated, lifting her head and gazing into Kameko's eyes with those odd pink irises. "Your life is about to become immensely better and you'll find where you truly belong, and the questions you have that are unanswered will soon be answered. What you feel in life now will seem as a distant memory then, and you'll gain friends that are worth dying for." Kameko pulled her hand from the woman's grasp, narrowing her eyes as weird pulses shot through her wrist. The haggard woman tilted her head back more, revealing locks of blue hair on either side of her face.

"How much do I owe you for the most informational palm read?" Kameko asked, unable to keep the sarcasm from dripping off her tongue. The haggard woman chuckled.

"Free of charge, dear," she replied. Kameko narrowed her eyes.

"Why is that?" Kameko asked, out of curiosity. The haggard said nothing, only looking out toward the parking lot in a contemplating expression. Kameko waited, patiently.

"Because a fortune like yours is rare and priceless," the haggard woman replied with quite the young giggle at the end. "Now, run along and wait for your journey to catch up to you!" Kameko almost face-palmed but restrained herself, walking away from the alley and toward her present foster home. Kameko shoved her hands back into her pockets and walked at a steady pace, not bothering about being late. Why should she hurry when Meg failed to offer a ride home when saying she wanted a friend to go to the mall to? What would Kameko's say to that? She was sure the social worker has already been called and they were all probably waiting on her return to tell her 'hey, you're kicked out of this house so get your nasty ass out of here and go give your plague to the next foster family, if one will have you'. Kameko scoffed, biting on the inside of her lip to keep her from ranting aloud.

"Oh, excuse me," she mumbled as she bumped shoulders with someone in her train of thought. She was surprised by how powerful the bump was; she could feel it all the way to her fingertips.

"It's quite all right." She looked over to see beautiful emerald green eyes glancing over at her that struck her as odd, sending a tickly feeling through her brain. He had long red locks, much like Meg's but they were only slightly wavy whilst Meg's was intensely curly—and not to mention dyed that color. He had the same stance as her, which to her was too much of a coincidence to be one, with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders struck forward slightly. She almost fell over her own feet but caught herself and threw a kind smile before resuming her walk. Remarkably, the man's face was struck from her mind as she turned a corner and frowned. There was no way she was going to make it to her house by sundown.

Kameko rolled her eyes and started off at a jog toward the direction of her house, hoping she'd get there by sundown or a little after because the punishment won't be as severe that way. But when she noticed that her jog was leisurely and quite lazy, she pushed her legs into a much-needed run. She was no bragger, but she was a good runner. She topped out at five-foot-ten inches and was mainly legs. And the only thing she adored about school was the athletics; she was in cross-country and basketball mainly, but often tried out for a lot of the other sports. She wasn't even aware of the smack against the concrete of the sidewalk as she flew down the street, weaving through people and trying not to hit anyone, or fall for Kami's sake.

But she only wished she had the reflexes of a cat; however, she didn't as someone—although, more like something—rammed into her extremely hard. She felt her body lift off the ground and in the next second, she was falling hard against the asphalt, face down and sliding to a halt for what felt like forever (but was only a couple feet). She felt her poor right arm shake beneath her from the excursion of the fall and she heard a yell that she was quite positive came from her own mouth when her shoulder gave a sickening pop, coming clean out of her socket from the impact of the fall—which she'd never be able to explain to someone else. She couldn't even feel her face but then again, do you really feel your face unless you move it? Kameko never did.

She glanced up with her eyes to see her assailant running off and he hardly looked human, but she was probably hallucinating from hitting the ground so hard with her face. She didn't feel any loose teeth so she counted her luck as she forced herself to stand, grimacing in pain and strain. Her left arm was doing all the work for her heavy body until her legs took over and she pushed herself up, leaning against a nearby lamppost. She was panting as she held her right arm to her body, clenching her eyes shut to rid the tears that wanted to stream her face and would surely burn any road rash she managed to get from that extremely embarrassing fall.

And somehow, all she could think about was that 'this was Meg's fault' and how that wench would surely pay tomorrow at school.

Kameko felt her head spin and the nausea whirled up in her stomach as she was forced to lean over and hack all of the teriyaki burger she had previously eaten up on the sidewalk. She has biffed it before but never that hard. She was just hoping she didn't rid her brain of the few brain cells it had. She reached into her pocket and grimaced, feeling the mashed up leftover burger from the mall and it was all over her pocket. She decided to leave it there.

Slowly, Kameko moved to the wall of the nearby building, almost passing out from the motion of walking. She used the wall for support as she walked, making sure she didn't move too quickly and making sure her feet were coordinated because landing on her right shoulder right now would most surely cause her to pass out from pain. But she shoved those weak thoughts away, moving at a steady pace until her mind became clearer and her stomach realized it could become centered again.

It was quite a while before she managed to see her home and indeed, there were patrol cars outside as well as a large black SUV. Kameko groaned and grumbled to herself as she opened the picket fence out front, grimacing from the squeal it had sent through the silent night. Almost instantaneously, the front door opened to reveal the face of her foster mother who looked ready to yell, but when her brown eyes caught sight of Kameko, she screamed out and rushed forward with the might of her stubby legs. Kameko would've collapsed in the woman's arms but her foster mother was barely five-foot and catching Kameko would be like a monkey catching a giraffe.

"Oh, dear, Kameko," the woman fretted, trying her best to assist Kameko into the house. The two policemen from the patrol cars walked out and replaced her foster mother to help Kameko inside. She almost cried out when the one on her right tried to lift her arm over his shoulders but he had noticed her wince and immediately was on his radio calling for an ambulance.

She was led inside and sat on the couch where her foster mother hurried to the back of the house and returned with a flustered look on her face, carrying the first aid kit and a glass of water that Kameko attacked instantly. "What's…in your pocket?" the social worker with cat-like features asked when the leftover burger started to ooze out. Kameko frowned.

"My leftover burger from the mall," Kameko answered. "It didn't fare well when I fell." Her foster mother fussed with her, cleaning the road rash on her face with peroxide while the social worker got on her handheld, rapping in her fast language that Kameko was slowly overhearing and it was making little to no sense.

"The ambulance will be here in fifteen minutes," one of the patrolman stated. Her foster mother nodded, still fussing until Kameko put a hand over hers, lightly chuckling.

"You can relax, Haru-san," Kameko stated while her foster mother sat next to her, still holding Kameko's hands in her own. '_Perhaps I should hurt myself more often when I'm late…_' Kameko thought humorously.

Kameko told the patrolmen what had happened, word for word, but she left out the palm reading thing. She just felt like that was unimportant to the two patrolmen and the other surrounding ears. She had told them that Meg didn't even offer to give her a ride home, knowing she had no phone and no coin to make a call or a car of her own. Then the walk home, changing the some_thing_ to some_one_ in her story so they wouldn't look at her funny because that's what would have happened.

For all of what Kameko experienced, she was not prepared for what came through that door when there was a light knocking after she finished her report; her foster father went to answer the door. First it was a twenty-odd something old man with slightly spiked black hair and very 'tickly-feeling' brown eyes that, aside from the tickling feeling, they were rather gorgeous brown eyes. He was wearing a disheveled EMT's uniform with a case in his left hand as he smiled kindly at the people around them.

The next person coming in shocked the hell out of her and she was unable to keep from gasping and staring at him wide eyed. It was the redheaded person that she had bumped into, and totally didn't inform the others even though to them it would've been irrelevant at that time. His eyes fluttered toward her and for a brief moment, she saw that damned emotion: knowing. She saw that in his eyes but it was gone in the blink of an eye and his companion knelt before her, asking the beginning question. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Kameko Rivers," she mumbled.

And she saw it in both their eyes at the same time, but it was easily masked in the red-head's eyes whilst the lips on the one before her tilted upward in the ghost of a smile, and she felt the biggest tickling feeling in her entire life crawl up her back and fuddle up her brain.

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**AuthorNotes: **So there's chapter one... Please let me know your comments/feedback/criticism on being introduced to Kameko Rivers for the first time. :) As I have been out of commission for quite some time (what, almost a year?), I might be a bit rusty so I welcome some constructive criticism, feedback, and helpful comments. I hope you all enjoyed otherwise. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 2

**Eat a Little Dirt  
**Chapter **2**

* * *

The brown-eyed guy before Kameko didn't take as long as most EMTs did when they evaluate, but Kameko wasn't complaining. She was glad to be ushered to the ambulance and told to sit on the gurney as the brown-eyed guy went to the driver's seat and the red-head sat to the side of her with a clipboard, jotting some notes down. Kameko waited until the doors were shut in the back and the redhead explained they were going to take her to Aiiku General Hospital.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," the redhead started. Kameko gave him a look, relaxing a bit as the sling around her shoulder helped to keep her dislocated shoulder in a comfortable spot.

"A lot is an understatement," Kameko replied. The driver chuckled as he pulled away from the house, taking off down the street. The redhead set aside the clipboard and clasped his hands in his lap as his leg crossed the other. Kameko valued the fact that he looked strangely at ease, despite the puzzling situation.

"Let me start with introductions. My name's Kurama and this is my companion, Yusuke," the redhead stated, motioning to the driver who pushed his fingers to his forehead, saluting. Kameko smiled at him and looked back at Kurama whose eyes were staring out the small square windows of the ambulance doors. "I would gladly answer any of your questions but this is hardly the suitable place to discuss such trivial things. I'm sure you recall what the palm-reader had said," Kurama said in that hinting fashion that said he knew way more than she did about that incident.

"Of course I remember it. It was nothing but a mind cluster," Kameko admitted. "Sure, I'm good at deciphering poems and haikus but that was neither." Kurama chuckled, nodding.

"I had created a composition for her to read but she had a hard time memorizing it on such short notice," Kurama stated. Kameko gave him a look as the binds holding her brain together seemed to slip from their normal spots and he smiled, waving it off. "Never mind that for now. We'll get to that later. For now, I would like to ask you to meet the two of us tomorrow, after your school gets out, at the pizza parlor down the street. We'll answer any of your questions then. And for your suffering; I'll answer the first question now since we've got a few moments until we're at the hospital." Kameko nodded. She thought about it and there was only one thing that jumped out at her.

"What this is in regards to?" she asked.

"In easy to understand terms, you're going to be kicking demon ass," Yusuke remarked. Kameko's eyes widened as she looked over at him before fixating her gaze back on Kurama. Kurama had an amused glint in his eye as he glanced at his companion.

"Forgive Yusuke. He doesn't understand sincerity in this topic because he has been in the same position you are in now a little more than thirty years ago," Kurama answered and Kameko blinked, looking over at Yusuke who had pulled onto the street leading to Aiiku General. He was over thirty-years old? She couldn't wrap her mind around that. "I know that's a possibly a difficult thing to believe and I wish for nothing more than to enlighten you but it will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon, if you would be willing to meet us."

"OK, yes, sure," Kameko mumbled, sarcastically. "I'll willingly go to the pizza parlor where you two frauds can kill me. That'd be the cherry on my banana split." Yusuke, up ahead, started laughing as Kurama favored a smile, shaking his head.

"I assure you, it's nothing like that," he reassured but Kameko wasn't exactly sold. Two strangers, appearing in medical professional uniforms, show up at her house after she had bumped into one earlier and now they propose something of an appointment? Yeah, Kameko wasn't too comfortable with that but what more could she do? She could deny them but she had the feeling that they'd pester her in any way they could until she agreed.

"Trust me, lady," Yusuke stated as he pulled into the emergency parking lot and peering back at her with a devilish glint in his brown eyes and his lips twisted upward. Kameko flushed. "This will definitely be worth your while for a measly twenty minute meeting. And hey! You'll be 'enlightened' about the real world around you. What d'ya say?" Kameko chewed on the inside of her bottom lip, contemplating as the doors behind the ambulance opened by one of the nurses of the hospital, who looked slightly irritated before seeing the three people.

"Hey, who the hell are you two?" the nurse snapped. "Where are Miko and Kyo?" Kameko looked over at Yusuke who had already darted out of the driver's seat, causing the nurse to yell out as Kurama moved to the front before tilting his head back toward her, smirking.

"So, your answer, Kameko-san?" he asked. Kameko flushed as she heard her foster parents' voices in the distance. She inhaled deeply before nodding at him. He nodded back and vanished out the door. A woman nurse appeared as the first nurse rushed to the front of the ambulance, bickering. She smiled sweetly at Kameko and Kameko followed the nurse to the doors of the emergency entrance. She stole a glance over her shoulder as the ambulance was driven away but there was no sign of the two boys. She slightly wondered if this was really happening; it was starting to have a surreal feeling to it.

She was hurried inside and placed in a room that was chillier than the average. She didn't mind it; her body felt like it several degrees hotter than normal. She sat there for all but five minutes when the door opened revealing the worried face of her foster mother—her foster father was behind her with a slightly less worried expression.

"Where in the hell is that doctor?" her foster mother snapped, glaring over her shoulder as her husband weaved around him to smile kindly at Kameko and pat her good shoulder comfortingly. "I'm going to go fetch that lazy doctor; you two wait here," she hissed.

"Darling, stop," her foster father stated, chuckling. "It's only been ten minutes since we've been here and I'm sure there are more critical cases than Kameko-Chan's and we wouldn't want to be thrown out of the hospital because you were screaming at a doctor in the middle of a massive surgery." Her foster mother flustered and Kameko couldn't help but giggle; she's never seen her foster parents like this. This was a nice change from their bickering and arguing. They were playfully teasing each other.

"Well, Kameko-Chan is more important than whatever patient is in a massive surgery. Besides, that _other patient_ was probably doing something stupid to land himself in here. Our girl got rammed into by some jerk and to me, that takes preference," the disgruntled, amber haired woman barked as her husband shared a light chuckle. Kameko took this time to move to the counter, grabbing the handheld mirror to stare at her reflection. She had abrasions all along the right side of her face, starting at her forehead and to her jaw; it looked more like she lost a fight to a cat. Her right arm had the most beautiful purple-blue bruise surrounding the top of it and her poor yellow shirt was ruined, complete with a basket-size rip down the hemline. The skin of her right side was intact, aside from the bruise forming on her hip area.

'_Well, at least my sweatpants protected my leg,_' she thought bitterly as the door opened, revealing her doctor who smiled kindly. Kameko moved to sit back down as he moved in front of her, setting his clipboard under the pit of his arm, reaching out with cold fingertips to prod at her chin, tilting her head this way and that.

"You did quite a number on yourself," he mumbled, chuckling lightly. Kameko shrugged as he pulled a chair to sit in front of her, pulling his clipboard in his lap. "I'd like a moment alone with the patient," he stated and Kameko glanced over at her foster parents, who—as if they were simpleminded—shuffled out. The doctor set his clipboard on the counter and chuckled, pulling the spectacles from his nose and folding them up into his pocket. "So, Kameko Rivers is your name?" he asked. Kameko nodded as that tickly feeling raced up and down her spine as if it was on crack; her head was throbbing all of a sudden, too. The doctor's eyes looked up at her and she glared. His irises were an abnormal color of yellow.

"Who the hell are you?" she found herself saying. The doctor laughed heartily; throwing his head back and she saw the glint of canine teeth. She moved away from him, heading to the door but he suddenly disappeared. She grew nervous before a heavy pressure squeezed down on her right shoulder, causing her to scream out in agony. She was thrown roughly forward and slammed hard into the examination table. She bit her tongue from screaming out again. Blood welled up inside of her mouth, almost enough to make her gag.

"Sorry about this. It's nothing personal, to be honest," the doctor stated, hovering above her. "I'm just doing what the boss-lady says and now that you're soon to be one of Lord Koenma's finest spirit detectives, we can't have the repeat of what Urameshi has accomplished." Kameko looked up at him, glaring as she felt her body starting to shudder.

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about," Kameko strained. The doctor smirked.

"Sure you do, child. That meeting with those two boys is the beginning of your soon-to-be success as a spirit detective. Now, futures can always change and by killing you, that future will change drastically. But if you live, boss-lady won't be able to proceed with what she wants for the demon world," the crazed doctor stated, as if it was common sense. Kameko flustered, getting quite angry at the weird twist of her life.

'_If this was what that damned palm-reader meant, I don't want it_,' she snapped in her mind as she struggled to get up with just her left arm. Her left arm was the dominant one but hefting all her dead weight when she was clearly exhausted was not easy. The doctor knelt before her and she glared at him as he sniffed her.

"Your powers aren't even awakened, so killing you makes me feel like a wolf in sheep's clothing," he whispered before shrugging. "Ah well, orders are orders." Kameko finally shoved herself to her feet, leaning on the overturned examination table. He eyed her before laughing. "You can't even make a spirit 'pee-shooter' if you wanted to right now." He laughed out again and she quickly took the opportunity to rush to the counter, grabbing the scalpel on the metal tray and turning around sharply, stabbing it into the doctor's neck, right in the carotid artery. The doctor yelled out as she twisted the scalpel and shoved him back with her left shoulder, locking her jaw at the pressure increasing in her right shoulder that was incredibly useless. She just hoped all this wouldn't cause her shoulder to break.

The doctor howled out as he pulled the scalpel out, glaring at her with something dangerous. She felt her heart speed up as fear overtook her, causing her to step back and widen her eyes. "You damn bitch, was that what you were planning?!" he screamed as horns started to protrude from his forehead and his eyes glinted dangerously. His teeth sharpened to points and his tongue slithered out like that of a snake's. He screeched out and reached for her neck with sharpened talons. She ducked down, screaming as she fell to her knees, crawling away as best as she could as he grabbed the back of her shirt, ripping what little fabric she had as she twisted around, and using her legs to push him back.

Kameko knew this was the fight for her life and right now, she didn't feel like the one coming out on top as she used mainly her legs to hold the doctor-demon back. '_Is this what those two were talking about?! Is this what I'd be fighting again? These damned monsters that want to gouge my eyes out to make stew with?!_' her mind shrilled as all she started to hear was her rapid breathing—with minor screaming. She was so scared. She doesn't remember the last time she's ever been this damned scared.

The doctor-demon reached out, grabbing the front of her shirt and she threw her left hand against his face, screaming out as her palm warmed up. She clenched her eyes shut and felt her energy drain as the doctor screamed out. She toppled to the ground as she was released, falling to her right shoulder in blinding pain. Spots danced before her eyes and the last thing she remembered was the doctor-demon screaming in agony and a bright magenta light fading from her peripheral.

* * *

**AuthorNotes: **So I hoped you liked this one. :) it gives a small little hint about what's to come in Kameko's story of becoming a spirit detective. I have a lot of hidden "apples" in this story so if you read something that might be a foreshadowing, it's probably an apple. LOL Please let me know what you think and if everything is still flowing. If you have any feedbacks/comments/concerns, please feel free to PM me. I may not respond right away because I don't have internet at home (I use my mom's internet on a weekly or biweekly basis) and using my phone to reply...is a headache. :P Hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 3

**Eat a Little Dirt  
**Chapter **3**

* * *

_**Yusuke Urameshi**_

The pizza parlor they had picked to meet this Kameko chick was a barren wasteland, but their pizza was pretty phenomenal. He didn't know what they used for sauce or how they made it, but it was very tomato-y with a very large hint of garlic. Yusuke felt like an Italian as he gorged slice after slice, never really getting full. Kurama was sitting across from him with a slightly amused look spread about his face as Yusuke chowed down. Yusuke hardly took a breath.

"I'm sure Kameko-san would like some pizza when she arrives, Yusuke," Kurama said. Yusuke shrugged, finally deciding to take a sip of his soft drink, ripping the lid from the top and chugging it. But that's when a pain, much familiar to him, shot up to his brain. He squealed as his head started to sear in pain, starting from his teeth. Kurama chuckled, clearly amused, as Yusuke allowed the small brain freeze to vanish before glaring at Kurama. "Perhaps that's a message from your subconscious to slow down."

"Like hell it is," Yusuke mumbled but didn't reach for another slice. He looked over at the face clock set above the exit door of the pizza parlor and his jaw set. "Where the hell is this broad? I thought you said she agreed to meet us." Kurama glanced over at the clock as well; school had been out for a good hour or so already, and the two of them have been at the pizza parlor for a good hour. It took all of Kurama's persuasive powers to keep Yusuke from leaving earlier, which had ended up resulting in the pizza being ordered before Kameko arrived. And now, Yusuke had to refrain from eating the double-extra-large pizza with everything on it—except sardines—with a double helping of cheese and tomato sauce.

"Perhaps she got caught up with something at school," Kurama suggested. Yusuke looked over at him crossly. "It was just a suggestion."

Ding!

The two looked over and Yusuke narrowed his eyes as two girls, trailed by two boys, walked in. The two girls were gossiping together while the two boys just looked miserable—it took all of Yusuke's strength not to laugh. Kurama sighed and both looked away as their keen hearing picked up the new group's conversation as they sat to order.

"Did you hear what happened to that Rivers girl?" one of the girls said. She had a head full of curly, chestnut brown hair and thin-rimmed glasses set on the bridge of her nose. Her friends all cued in and the boy to her right urged her for more. "My mom works at Aiiku General and she saw the whole thing. Rivers was abused by a fake doctor and just managed to set almost half the hospital on fire, but no one knows how she did it. There were no matches or anything. It's rumored they moved her to the burn victims unit but my mom wasn't sure. Apparently, the doctor tried molesting her and everything."

"Poor girl," one of the guys stated. "She was a hottie if I ever saw one." The girl with the glasses looked sharply up at him and he chuckled nervously, waving his hands up defensively. "It was j-just an observation is all. No need to get burnt up about it." Yusuke stopped listening in and looked at Kurama, who had his thoughtful expression on his face.

"Perhaps we're too late?" Yusuke suggested. Kurama didn't say anything but instead, stood and walked to the cashier to pay for the pizza as Yusuke packed it up and the two of them left—Kurama eyed the pizza box underneath Yusuke's arm. "What…? She could be hungry, you know? Hospital food isn't four-star quality." Kurama chuckled.

"And here I am, thinking you had taken it to have something to eat on the way there, Yusuke. Once again, your generosity amazes me," Kurama stated and Yusuke quickly slid his hand back from the opening of the pizza box, flushing. His companion made his true intention seem ten times worse than what it really was. "I suggest we lag a bit in our walking so that night can fall. I don't think Kameko-san's parents will appreciate strangers who were impersonating paramedics to come visit their sick daughter." Yusuke nodded and they started to walk the long way to the hospital.

It still didn't take that long to reach the hospital and Yusuke's eyes bugged out of his skull at the damage to the front left wing of the hospital. There were definite signs of some kind of explosion but thankfully; no beams were taken out so the first level was able to stay intact. There were signs of debris but most of it had been picked up.

"Can you sense that, Kurama?" Yusuke asked, narrowing his eyes at the strange feeling that migrated around the wreckage. Kurama nodded. "Suppose that was our girl, what would Koenma think about it?"

"We need not worry about that. That scent belongs to someone else who fled after the explosion," Kurama stated. Yusuke looked over at Kurama, questioningly. Kurama pointed to the debris that was scattered still, nearest the line of shrubbery. There was a sizeable indent in a shrubbery as if someone had been blown back and landed in the middle of it. Yusuke walked over to it and knelt down, reaching out and taking a whiff. It was amazing how many scents bombarded his nostrils at that one moment: blood, fear, excitement and power.

"I see the doctor that our girl blew half to hell wasn't alone," Yusuke noted. Kurama nodded and knelt before the bush as well, reaching down and pulled out a hair in between his nails. It was pure red in color and tried coiling around Kurama's finger. Kurama gave it to Yusuke for inspection, who reached into his pocket and grabbed a baggie that he had in there. Kurama gave him a weird look. "Keiko sent me out with cookies this morning. She's going through that human thing that women go through, and takes it out on our oven. I s'pose I'm lucky." Kurama chuckled as Yusuke put the hair into the baggie and looked over at the hospital. "Let's go see how our girl is faring, ya?" Kurama nodded.

The two moved away from the 'main crime scene' and into the hospital, weaving through to find a map, which Kurama memorized easily and led the two of them to the burn victim's unit, which didn't have a single light on. Yusuke stood guard as Kurama grabbed the patient charts, filtering through the names until he found one in the middle.

"She's in there," Kurama whispered. Yusuke nodded and the two of them walked into the burns victim section, moving through the beds until they came to one in the farthest corner that had some whispering. Yusuke eyed Kurama and Kurama reached up to the nape of his neck, cautiously as Yusuke clenched his fists. He couldn't use his reigun in this enclosed space, with all these burn victims that smelt of roasting pork; that'd create more chaos than order.

Yusuke reached out, pulling the curtain open and almost face-palming. Kurama chuckled and relaxed as the woman on the bed looked up at the two of them, shocked. She had papers spread out before her with a textbook open on her thigh and a pencil—that was really meant for children four and under—in her left hand. However, Yusuke smelt her burns from here. They smelt differently than the ones of the other victims. They were more of a dried out smell than a wet, in-your-face burn smell.

"What happened?" Kurama asked as the blonde woman looked toward him, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip.

"I don't know," she mumbled. Yusuke moved forward, pointing one finger as he held out the pizza box for her, to which she snagged from his hands and started to ravenously eat. Yusuke watched with slight envy as she devoured the four or so slices of pizza left. Kurama gave him a look and Yusuke wished nothing more than to flip that redhead off. When the pizza was gone, Kameko looked up at them with steady confidence. "Can you two tell me what had happened?"

"Well, the general consensus is, that you were almost molested by a fake doctor," Kurama explained. "Do you remember anything?" Kameko pursed her lips.

"That was no doctor," she mumbled, running her hands through her hair that was down. Yusuke had a hard time not making a witty comment. That woman had a lot of hair and surprisingly, it was pretty thin for the mass of it. He also noticed part of the burn on the underside of her right arm. "I saw something I don't think I was ready for," she whispered. Yusuke wasn't sure if they were meant to hear that but he frowned, moving to the side of her bed to smile at her. She eyed him.

"It's a little unnerving seeing your first demon. Trust me, I remember the first time I saw mine," Yusuke consoled. Kameko frowned. "But at least you kicked his sorry ass!" He shared a chuckle, hoping she'd laugh, but she just moved her eyes away from him and chewed on the inside of her bottom lip.

"I don't know what I did," she murmured. Yusuke narrowed his eyes. "I remember the moment clearly, as if it was a movie I had seen recently, and not a memory. He had me in his clutches and was going to finish me off, when I had tried to move his face away but…something happened that saved me. If only I hadn't closed my eyes, I would've seen what happened." She pushed her face into her hands and groaned. "It's frightfully irritating."

"You were scared. It's quite understandable," Kurama piped in. Yusuke nodded, moving to stand. "But perhaps I can be of some clearance to you,"—Kameko looked up at him, hopefully—"what you did was called spiritual energy. It's much like Yusuke's and I recognized the scent when I examined the debris."

"Really? I didn't pick up on that," Yusuke mumbled. Kurama smiled over at him.

"That's a simple explanation as well. You're used to the smell of spiritual energy, Yusuke, so your nose doesn't pick it up as well as mine does. I did, however, find a small difference between yours and Kameko's," Kurama stated. Kameko blinked, raising her hand timidly. The two looked over at her, expectedly.

"What's…spiritual energy?" she asked. Yusuke almost fell over as he started laughing; Kurama grinned, embarrassed as he chuckled.

"Yes, first we should explain that before we dive into anything else," Kurama chuckled. Kameko blushed.

"Look, you know that every human has a spirit, right?" Yusuke asked. Kameko nodded. "Well, some humans—like you and me—can trigger that spirit energy into a weapon. I have what's called a spirit-gun, or reigun as I call it. A good friend of mine has a spirit sword. I'm not sure what you have but it sounds similar to my reigun. With training, you'd be able to master it." Kameko raised her brows, almost to her hairline as she looked to Kurama.

"With training, you'd be able to use the ability you used against the doctor when you want to, not when the situation is dire," Kurama reassured. Kameko sighed and looked down at her homework that was spread out around her bed.

"And is this what you wanted to meet about?" she asked. Both Yusuke and Kurama nodded and she took a deep breath in, nodding. "OK, I'll do this training experience. I'd be lying if I said it didn't interest me." Yusuke grinned.

"Super! You're well on your way to becoming spirit detective," Yusuke stated. Kameko looked over at him sharply and all excitement melted from him in that strangely familiar expression; it reminded him dangerously of a woman he knows.

"What do you mean spirit detective?" Kameko asked, sharply. Kurama gave Yusuke a look, who just grinned, taking a step back to glance out to the other side of the curtain, as if he was standing guard.

"It's your choice of course but like Yusuke used to be, you'd be drafted to being a spirit detective if you showed promise," Kurama answered, a lot smoother than Yusuke could. Kameko narrowed her eyes. "A spirit detective is someone who makes sure that the human world is protected from any supernatural threats, like it tends to be." Yusuke looked back at Kameko, whose eyes were wider than normal.

"And right now, the human world watcher, who is the spirit world ruler, is afraid there's another threat coming but he doesn't have any spirit detectives," Yusuke puzzled in. Kameko looked to him. He saw that intrigued look in her eyes and he couldn't help but feel more hopeful than anything that she'd accept. "But hey, all we're here to do is train you and after that, it's all in your hands. Think of us as your new mentors." He grinned for effect and Kameko shared a smile.

"OK. The worse thing that can happen is I die, right?" she asked, quite sarcastically. Yusuke's eye twitched and he tried not to glare at the bluntness she put into that sentence.

"Well, yeah," he snapped back. Kameko glared at him.

"And you're making it out to be like it's a game. What's wrong with you?" she asked. Yusuke flustered.

"Don't mind Yusuke," Kurama said before anything else could blow up in this precious hospital. "He has a passion for fighting, is all." Kameko looked back over at him and that seemed to sell her. She nodded and looked down at her homework.

"Will I still be able to go to school with all this?" she asked. Kurama frowned; that was a trick question.

"To be honest," Yusuke started. "You might miss a few days here and there." Kameko nodded and closed her book, neatly putting all her homework in a pile. Yusuke watched as one paper was out of place and Kameko pushed the paper into place. He glanced over at Kurama who was watching the mannerisms just as he was, but with more of an engulfing expression. Yusuke had half the mind to tease the blonde girl for the small display of obsessive-compulsive-disorder.

"I'm to be discharged tomorrow morning," Kameko stated. "Where do I meet you guys for the training?"

* * *

**AuthorNotes: **So I hope you all enjoyed and it's still piecing together. I have to send out a _**BIG OLE THANK YOU** _to my beta reader Chika Croi, who has been the most awesome in reading through and sending my chapters back in a timely manner. :3 To all my readers, thank you sooooo much for reading and favoriting/reviewing/everything! It makes writing easier with support. :3 Anyways, please let me know your feedback/comments/criticism. I'm open to all! Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 4

**Eat a Little Dirt  
**Chapter **4****  
**

* * *

Kameko stared up at the hundred-mile-long staircase with slight reprieve. The stairs led up a huge mountain that she thought she'd pass by on the train, but nope. The train stopped just a block or so down from the massive staircase and now, she was really regretting on meeting Kurama and Yusuke for training. She heaved her pack higher on her shoulder and sighed, beginning the trek upward. She was still a bit exhausted from yesterday's incident, and the day before, but she was almost subconsciously thinking this was a part of some test.

She wasn't sure if she was halfway, but it wasn't long before her thighs were burning. She ignored it and finally, after what felt like hours, she was at the top, revealing a beautiful dojo with two familiar faces at the gate, talking together. She took a deep breath and walked toward them; they turned their heads when she was close. "That was fast," Kurama stated, smiling kindly. Kameko shrugged and shifted her pack higher on her shoulder.

"What next?" she asked. Yusuke grinned.

"It's good to know that you're in some kind of physical shape," Yusuke stated, pocketing his hands. Kameko looked away, biting on her lip.

"Yeah, well, kind of had to develop one when foster home after foster home had strict rules about curfews and I have a bad case of karma following me around," Kameko answered. Yusuke blinked as Kurama frowned.

"You're a foster child?" Kurama asked. Kameko nodded.

"But that's unimportant. What's next on the agenda for this weekend? I told my foster parents I was going to Meg's house," Kameko answered.

"We'll start with some basics, some lessons about balance and stability. We would like to see where you stand," Yusuke answered. Kameko nodded and walked into the gates of the dojo. Yusuke had to admire her spirit but so far from what he could sense her spiritual energy didn't match up to his own when he first started out as a detective. He just hoped he was wrong; spirit detectives always got into trouble with demons far stronger than them.

Kurama took the lead and led the girl and Yusuke to the back of the dojo to the training room that Yusuke was completely familiar with. It smelt the same as ash and cigarette smoke, even though there was incense lit on the right wall. Kameko looked around and set her pack on the ground near the door, stretching her arms above her head and stretching her arms and lumbar. "And are you sure you want to start with balance?" Kameko asked, turning her head to turn at Kurama and Yusuke, who both looked at her in question.

"Well, you can't very much fight if you don't have balance," Yusuke remarked with a matter of fact tone.

'_Great…_' Kameko thought bitterly as she attempted to seem calm.

"Do you think she has the capabilities to replace the boys?" her voice asked as Koenma stared down at the paperwork with a fixated gaze. Koenma sighed and looked up at the blue-haired ferry that had a worried expression on her face as her hands fidgeted before her. "I've seen a portion of her future and she…"

"I don't want to hear it," Koenma stated, waving his hand with another sigh as he ran his hands down his face. "I didn't have a choice in the picking of Kameko. If I had a choice, it'd have been another sleeper demon because then I don't have to worry about the detective dying anytime soon." Botan frowned and took a step forward.

"What do you mean you didn't have a choice?" Botan asked, carefully. Koenma scoffed.

"It came from high recommendations from my father," Koenma answered, quite bitterly. Botan raised her eyebrows high on her head.

"Then that should mean Kameko is stronger than she appears, right? Lord Enma wouldn't recommend someone who he didn't think could handle things," Botan remarked. Koenma looked over at her but didn't respond as he stamped the file before him and set it aside.

"I think Kameko will serve her purpose to the best of her abilities but I'm afraid the time will come when she won't be strong enough to defeat an opponent and I'll be doing this entire search all over again," Koenma stated. Botan instantly glared at him, placing her hands on her hips.

"How dare you, Koenma! You can't expect her to be as strong as Yusuke or Hiei or Kurama, but just because she doesn't have an ounce of demon blood in her doesn't mean she won't be able to do her job… Or did you forget about Kuroko Sanada? She was completely human and managed to live a long and fruitful life after being a spirit detective."

"Alright, alright," Koenma surrendered, waving his hands up as his face paled. "I get your point and I'm trying to have as much faith as you have, but we won't know how she is until Urameshi and Kurama produce their conclusions." Koenma sighed, frowning as his hands fidgeted when he put them on the desk. "I just don't understand why my father chose her. She didn't have any special qualities like others had; her spirit levels were borderline mundane compared to others; and she seems like a bore."

"Oh, Lord Koenma, sir," Botan stated, shaking her head, "you haven't even met her. You cannot say that she's a bore without first meeting her." Koenma scowled.

"I just don't know why Urameshi can't just be the spirit detective again! I would never have to worry about demons wanting to take over the Ningenkai again. Who would challenge him?" Koenma asked, sighing deeply as he slouched back into his chair and put a hand to his forehead. Botan shook her head as she began to chuckle.

"You will just have to make do with what you have now. Who knows? Yusuke didn't start out very powerful and with much potential, but look at him now! Who's to say that Kameko won't make a good spirit detective?" Botan sat on the edge of Koenma's desk and grinned. "Her future seems troublesome but I can tell you that it will be quite a while before she actually dies. Death is nowhere near her." Koenma looked up at Botan and nodded.

"Let's hope it stays that way."

Yusuke watched Kameko with the utmost concentration. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as Kurama began to start Kameko on hand-to-hand combat. The girl showed little promise in fighting, as her arms seemed to flop around like water noodles. Her punches were frail and her elbows never seemed to have the ability to lock enough to keep Kurama out of her arm's distance. He was getting a little peeved…

And just when he thought it wouldn't get any worse, Kameko lifted one of her legs to aim a kick and ended up stumbling into the nearby wall when she went to drop it to the ground. The only thing entertaining was Kurama's attempt at patience and kindness—but this oaf reminded Yusuke of another tall comrade of his that didn't have the steadiest of feet.

It was only minutes after Kameko's umpteenth fall that the door to the training room slid open to reveal the bright, lively face of a blue-haired ferry Yusuke knew as Botan. She was dressed in light blue jeans and her traditional yellow jacket with her hair pulled tautly up into a ponytail. Yusuke went to smile and greet her, but she beat him to the punch line:

"How's the fantastically wonderful (_female_) spirit detective doing?" Botan squealed. Yusuke could've strangled her, remembering when she showed up as his door with a beaming smile and the story of the new recruit Koenma had in mind for his next spirit detective—and he could buy a large pizza with how many times she said the word 'female'.

Kameko and Kurama stopped, looking over. Kameko was breathing heavily and her eyes had narrowed to fractions as she stared at the blue-haired woman. Kurama went to say something, but Kameko beat him to his punch line:

"You're that weird palm reader that was outside the mall the other day, before all this wonky stuff started happening," Kameko pointed out. Botan paled, giggling nervously as she waved her hands nervously as her head shook back and forth.

"Palm reader? No, no—I think you're mistaken! I'm not a palm reader," Botan stated with the same fake grin. Yusuke rolled his eyes; he couldn't believe she pulled that stunt again.

"I don't normally see bright pink eyes on a daily basis," Kameko pointed out, taking a step toward Botan with a finger pointing in her direction. "And I saw a fraction of your blue hair and that's not a normal thing to see, unless you dye it that way." Botan just kept giggling, not saying anything for a while before she slouched forward, and letting out a puff of air of defeat.

"Alright, you've discovered me," she stated as she perked up again, placing a hand on her hip and holding her finger up. "You have to admit that I gave you a really accurate reading, if I do say so myself." Kameko's eyebrows angled downward.

"I wouldn't say that, but if you had called it perplexing, I would have to agree," Kameko answered. Botan kept her strange grin on before she seemed to remember something suddenly.

"Oh right, I came here for a reason," she stated, turning toward Yusuke. Yusuke looked over at her, raising his eyebrows.

"Finally realized she wasn't in the room alone, Botan," Yusuke stated, feeling a bit hurt that she hadn't turned directly to him. It was strange to think that she wouldn't always be there to inform him of a new demon in Ningenkai. Working pro bono for the Reikai ruler off and on for the past couple decades made him a little accustomed to Botan coming directly to him, not some other wannabe.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke," Botan stated, smiling. "I actually came to let you know about Koenma's bargain for this whole thing!" Yusuke gave her a weird look.

"What do you mean by saying 'Koenma's bargain'?" Kurama piped in. Botan looked over at him and her eyes flicked to Kameko, who became interested by the look on her face.

"I second that question," Kameko asked. Botan looked at a loss; Yusuke was led to believe she meant to say that just to him.

"Well, share the gossip, Botan," Yusuke stated, waving his hand. "What's pacifier breath's bargain for Kameko?" Kameko looked over at him briefly and he waved her away, shaking his head and mouthing 'later'.

"It was just meant for Yusuke, but oh well, cat's out of the bag," Botan stated. "Koenma would like to express his gratitude for Kameko's interest in becoming a spirit detective" –Yusuke couldn't help but roll his eyes—"and he thought it'd be a good idea if we tested Kameko's spirit, to see if she would be able to handle the stress of her upcoming job."

"Just one minute," Kameko spoke up as Botan took a break to inhale. "I never said I wanted this whole…spiritual cop gig. I was just interested in finding out more about what happened at the hospital." Yusuke couldn't help but grin; he found that spiritual cop was a cute nickname for a Reikai Tantei.

"I'm afraid you've already been titled as a recruit," Botan mumbled. Kameko's eyes narrowed and she turned away from them, walking over to her bag of stuff and tossing it over her shoulder. She moved toward the door as the three of them looked at each other, slightly confused—until she opened the door and walked outside with a snap of the door behind her.

"I don't think that was a good thing to say at this time, Botan," Kurama stated, looking over at her with a kind smile and walking after Kameko. Yusuke shook his head toward Botan.

"I didn't know that would happen," Botan stated. "I thought she would've been gung-ho about it." Yusuke shrugged.

"She's the bookworm type, not a 'get-in-trouble' type like I was, Botan," Yusuke remarked, following after Kurama. He heard Botan shuffling after him as he caught sight of Kurama ahead of him, staring at the blonde who was standing at the top of the stairs. Yusuke walked up beside him and nudged him, pointing at the girl.

"What's going on?" he asked. Kurama sighed as he looked over at him, just as Botan joined their Three's Company.

"She's talking to herself," Kurama answered, smirking a bit. "And I don't have it in my heart to interrupt the argument."

Kameko had no idea what to do. She was no quitter and even though she was extremely curious about learning more about what had happened at the hospital, she wasn't sure if she was into the whole 'demon-ass-kicking' gig.

"Kami, I can't even get passed level one of Goblin King," Kameko stated, running a hand over her face. "How in the world am I going to kick demon ass if I can't get passed the easiest part of a video game?" She groaned out and found herself chewing on her bottom lip as her hands fidgeted. "But then again, if I could do what they said I could…where I can use whatever that was at the hospital, then I could get passed level one of Goblin King…metaphorically speaking, I mean. Not literally, Goblin King." Kameko sighed and looked up at the sky that was starting to bleed as the sun lowered in the west.

"And then there's the issue with my foster parents…" she muttered as she lowered her eyes. "I don't think they'll let me rush off whenever I want to, returning back with bruises and blood stained on my jeans. I think I'd be incarcerated…" Kameko sighed. What she truly didn't understand was the strange feeling she was getting to turn around and walk back to the training area.

"This is crazy," she hissed. "I need to just walk away, don't look back, and pretend this never happened. What's really going to happen? Like all the books I've read, demons go away if you ignore that they're there… They'll eventually fade away and you won't ever have to deal with them." Kameko took a step down the stairs and inhaled deeply.

"You're wrong!" a voice called out. Kameko looked over, stunned. Her foot twisted midway and she found gravity reaching up for a hug. She squealed, her limbs flailing, as she crashed down the stone staircase, rolling a while before she managed to stop herself. Her entire body was weeping and she found a mouth full of blood from biting her tongue.

"Oh my Kami, are you all right?" a different voice yelled as Kameko looked up to see middle-aged woman rushing up from behind her with arms full of groceries. The woman set the bags down and reached out, helping her sit up. "Are you feeling nauseous or dizzy, lightheaded or faint of breath?" the woman asked, frowning at her. Kameko shook her head, staring at the woman with bewilderment. Who was this middle-aged woman, strutting up the stairs not even out of breath, with graying brown hair, brown eyes, and a concerned gaze? Kameko felt extremely embarrassed that a forty-odd-something old woman didn't even seem winded up these stairs.

"Keiko, what are you doing here? I thought you had dinner plans with your parents," Yusuke stated as Kameko tilted her head up in his direction. He had a wide grin on his face as the middle-aged woman—who Kameko guessed was Keiko—smiled back, going to get the bags of groceries.

"I saw that you forgot your lunch when you left today and figuring that you said you'd be here for a few days, training the new spirit detective, you might need a way to feed her and everyone else," Keiko answered as Yusuke embraced her, causing a wider smile to break Keiko's face.

"Thanks, babe, you're a life saver. I hadn't even thought about food in advance," Yusuke stated as he stared down at Kameko. "Keiko, this is Kameko. Kameko, this is Keiko, my wife."

* * *

**AuthorNotes: **I'm sorry about the long-awaited update. It's been like a month, so I apologize. Just things got a bit hectic in my personal life. I hope this installment makes up for it, a teeny tiny bit! :3 Let me know what you think so far of Kameko's persona. I opened her up a bit more in this chapter and she'll continue to let you readers into her high-walled sanctuary of fortitude that we call ourselves (of course, that just applies to you readers...not the boys! Hehe). Thanks for reading! Until next time! ;)


	6. Chapter 5

**Eat a Little Dirt  
**Chapter **5****  
**

* * *

"So tell me about yourself, Kameko," Keiko asked, smiling politely as she poured tea into the cup in front of Kameko. Kameko smiled, thanking her. Keiko sat across from her with Yusuke to her left; who was munching on a monstrous sandwich Keiko had made him a few minutes ago.

"Uhm, not much to tell," Kameko answered, shrugging. "Just…trying to get through high school and then go from there." Keiko was a nice older woman with faintly graying brown hair and soft brown eyes. Kameko sensed that she had more to her than what was on the outside, however; there was just something about her that seemed like she's been through a lot.

"Who are your parents?" Keiko asked, smiling politely. Yusuke stopped in the middle of a bite as Kameko shifted her eyes back to the hot cup of tea she was waiting to cool down. She hastily brought it to her lips to take a sip, burning a few of her taste buds in the process. She winced and set the cup down, earning a look of question from Keiko.

"My parents are dead," Kameko answered, causing a ripple of effect from the boys who turned to look at her. "Don't know who they are, but I'm staying with Mr. and Mrs. Matsumoto Nguyen." Keiko nodded, moving her spoon in a circle to stir her tea.

"Are they relatives of yours?" Keiko asked before Yusuke could say anything. Kameko shook her head, taking another sip of her tea.

"So, how did you and Yusuke meet?" Kameko asked, diverting the subject. Keiko smiled, looking over at Yusuke.

"We've always been friends, since childhood," Keiko answered. Yusuke grinned at her. "When everyone else was scared of Yusuke, I was really the only one to ever be able to put him in his place." Yusuke's grin dropped to a shocked 'O' as Keiko began to giggle. "Don't look at me like that. You may be able to take down thousands of demons at once, but I'm still one of the only ones that can knock you out." Kameko smiled as Yusuke's mouth turned back into a smile.

"That is true," Yusuke muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Your slaps hurt more than almost anything else I've ever had to deal with." Kameko sipped at her tea, nodding when it was the perfect temperature.

"So, Kameko, do you have any hobbies you enjoy?" Keiko asked. Kameko glanced over at her.

"Just normal teenager stuff: video games, texting, things like that." Kameko shrugged as she glanced over at the other faces. Most didn't seem concerned but there was a strange look on Kurama's face, as if he was studying her. She felt like she was a specimen under a magnifying glass, so she connected eyes with his and held it briefly.

"So, Kameko-san, can you tell us anything else on what happened to you at the hospital?" Keiko asked, breaking the eye contact between Kameko and Kurama, who appeared as if they were having an inward telepathic battle—but were not. Kameko looked over at Keiko, blinking.

"Uh, not much to tell that you don't already know," Kameko answered, shrugging. "Just got attacked by some demon-playing-doctor." Yusuke scoffed.

"At least your 'demon-doctor' didn't have regenerative abilities, keen on spreading his fatal virus all over the planet," Yusuke hissed. Kameko raised an eyebrow in his direction but he waved his hand in dismissal. "Long story…"

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about that mess again," Botan cued in, smiling. "Koenma has been trying to find out what kind of conspiracy is going on in the Makai, but his sources haven't been able to find out anything as of yet." Kameko nodded, still not feeling too sure about this whole Reikai Tantei gig. It seemed appealing, to be a heroine for once instead of an unwanted foster child stuck in the system.

But then again, she was still having nightmares about the whole attack at the hospital. Never in her life had she ever felt fear consume her like that. It was almost as if her soul escaped her body and only a survival instinct was keeping her alive—as well as that magenta light the others called spirit energy. She wished she could do more, but she didn't think she had enough "oomph" in her system to carry the weight of humanity's safety on her shoulders. Kami, she was only a sixteen-year-old high school student with no real stability—both emotionally and mentally.

It was real quiet after that as some small talk started between the old companions around her that Kameko felt weird being around. She was an outcast, and knew it. She didn't know these people half as much as they knew one another. They've all been through these steps and Kameko was just learning out how to balance for Kami's sake—and even that wasn't going so well. The million of bruises along her arms and legs proved that.

"I think after a good nights rest tonight, tomorrow we'll up the game," Yusuke piped in, catching Kameko's attention. She looked over at him.

"How do you mean?" Kameko was obligated to ask. The tone of his voice didn't say it would be a walk in the park.

"Well, after today's fiasco, I think we should just start going straight into training you to defend yourself at the very least," Yusuke answered, shoving a few spoonfuls of the soup that Keiko slid in front of him. He swallowed and grinned over at Kameko. "You may suck royally at staying balanced, but Kurama here said you were one helluva runner." Kameko flushed, flicking her eyes self-consciously in Kurama's direction.

"I'm a mediocre runner," Kameko stated, shrugging. "I've just had good practice on running to make curfew." The others looked at her strangely, but she pushed it from her mind. '_I'll try not to make as much of a fool of myself as I did today_,' Kameko chided herself, unable to keep the scowl off her face as she poked at her food.

"May I use the restroom?" Kameko spoke up suddenly, before anything else could be said. The others nodded and Keiko told her where to find it. She excused herself and stood, heading toward the hallway and toward where the bathroom was.

Sliding the door open, she walked into the rather large room and shut the door behind her. She stood there for a second before moving to the sink, topped by a large mirror that shined perfectly. She sighed and turned the water on, letting the water slide over her hands. She watched as the water slipped between her fingers as her thoughts became scrambled. She had been keen on leaving, but then Keiko showed up and seemed to draw her back to this predicament. She didn't want to seem like a coward, afraid to find out who she really was, but damn it, she was a coward. She didn't want a repeat of what happened at the hospital.

And Yusuke made it clear that demons ranged in strength, and the demon at the hospital was nowhere near as strong as one that Kameko might have to face later in her years as a Reikai Tantei—if she became one. Kami, did she have enough in her to even contemplate that choice? The way the others spoke of Yusuke made him seem like a heathen God full of power, and she didn't think she had that much in her. She remembered the feeling of her energy draining exponentially in that one moment of survival against the demon-doctor. It was as if a vacuum was sucking at her soul directly, from her navel more than likely.

Kami, she really didn't think she could do this…

"So, what do you all think of her so far?" Botan asked.

"I think her heart is in the right place, but as far as what I've witnessed, I'm not too entirely positive she's a suitable replacement for Yusuke," Kurama stated after taking a sip of his tea that had chilled in the time since his last sip.

"I don't think she'll last long," Yusuke answered, shrugging.

"Yusuke!" Keiko chided. Yusuke looked over at her with an incredulous gaze.

"I'm serious, Keiko. She can't even balance on her foot longer than three seconds," Yusuke answered. "And her punches are more like getting hit by soft balloons full of air. Her kicks hold somewhat of a hit, but she can't stay balanced enough to perform a simple roundhouse." Keiko sighed.

"I don't get the same feeling as you two," Keiko answered, gripping her teacup with more fervor than necessary. She gave Yusuke a stern look. "Have you forgotten that you started out just as feeble as her, Yusuke? I strangely remember you only being about to shoot your reigun once a day and receiving a lot of down-and-outs in the beginning of your job. You'd always win, but you always managed to get a swift butt kicking before succeeding. You need to remember that fighting isn't all that's part of the Reikai Tantei job, and I think she has more strength in another aspect than even she thinks." Yusuke raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?" Keiko sighed.

"I'm not sure, but with all that I've been through with you, Yusuke, I find it's easy to get a read of people from your other world," Keiko answered, frowning slightly. "I don't know what I'm reading in her, but there's something we're missing about her that might be of value in her position as a Reikai Tantei."

"Your evaluation of her is somewhat correct, Keiko-Chan," Kurama stated, sighing. "Although she caught me and her read fell off my radar, I sense something…almost intriguing in her. There's something inside of her that I think not even Koenma realizes." Botan's eyebrows rose high on her forehead.

"I wonder what that is," Botan muttered. "I was with Koenma the other day and he has a concern that he hasn't been able to find out who her real parents are. Most people have a background history that the Ningenkai doesn't have access to, but he can't find the genetic code to any humans that match hers, aside from an uncle."

"An uncle?" Yusuke asked, getting curious. Botan nodded, putting a finger to her chin.

"I can't recall what his name was, but Koenma said the only person he's found relatively close to her gene pool is an uncle—but he's not sure from which side. He's a bit of a creep, if you ask me. He's been in and out of prison for the past decade, and it's why child protective services didn't even put him on the suggestion list. He can't take care of himself, let alone a young girl."

"Does her uncle have any spiritual awareness?" Kurama asked.

"Not that Koenma has been able to find. He may be just acute to the real world around him and it could be the reason why he drinks, but Koenma has been digging for quite some time without any success," Botan answered, sighing. "His story is as secret as Kameko's is."

"Just a curiosity question, but how many foster homes has she been through?" Kurama asked. Botan glanced over at him.

"More than she should have," Botan remarked. "There seemed to always be a problem, always on Kameko's side. But after Koenma dug around a little, he found out that most of the foster homes she had been placed in were dysfunctional in different ways. She's never found a home that genuinely cared about taking care of her. She was just a paycheck to most of the families." Keiko frowned.

"That's so sad," Keiko whispered.

"Yes, it is," Botan said, frowning. "But the Nguyen family seems like they genuinely care about her. They have been trying to adopt a child for the past handful of years, with no success, so they joined the foster family system. They had a foster child before Kameko that was older and became eighteen on their watch, and then Kameko arrived."

"Are they suitable foster parents?" Kurama asked. Botan nodded.

"Oh, yes, they are. A lot more so than the others Kameko has been in," Botan answered. "The foster mother, Haru-san, hasn't been able to conceive a child since she lost her only son in a fatal car accident a while back. The foster father, Matsumoto-san, is a very stable guy—almost the type that could've been a general in the wars long ago. He's structured, yet calm. I think they will be a good influence on Kameko-san."

"Well that's good," Yusuke mumbled. "I'd hate to train her, only to have her relocated to China or something." Keiko smiled over at him, shaking her head.

"She's a resident of Japan, Yusuke. The foster system wouldn't relocate her to China," Keiko remarked. Yusuke shrugged, finishing off his tea and going to help himself to more.

"Whatever. You know what I mean," he muttered.

* * *

**AuthorNotes: **Sorry about the super long gap between updates. I tried to update biweekly, but guess that fell through the crack and I apologize. Things have been pooey but they're looking up! :) I try to update this story regularly and even though I've only posted up until chap 5 on here, I'm up to chap 7 and working on chap 8. I find it easier to have a little gap of posting chapters, in case I want something to change or whatnot. Lol Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought!


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